Chapter 178

The fifteenth day after the document was released.

Li Daming (real name Li Daming) squatted by the flower bed at the entrance of the "Yunchuan City Mech Driver's License Examination Center."

He clutched a crumpled registration confirmation slip in his hand, his eyes fixed on the unopened gate of the examination center.

He was already thirty-five years old, an honest construction worker; his skin was tanned dark from years on construction sites, and his palms were as rough as sandpaper.

At this time, there were already hundreds of people lined up behind him, the queue turning three corners and extending to the street corner.

There were young takeout riders, middle-aged renovation masters, college students wearing glasses, and even an uncle in a chef's uniform, probably skipping work to come.

"Brother, are you here to take the test too?" A young man in his early twenties nearby leaned over to strike up a conversation.

Li Daming nodded without saying much.

His personality was a bit introverted; having worked on construction sites for more than a decade, he was used to burying his head in work and talking less.

"This is my third time here," the young man sighed.

"I took the theory test twice before passing, and today I'm taking the Subject Two test. Is it your first time?"

"Yeah."

"Then you have to be careful," the young man lowered his voice.

"Subject Two, the 'Egg Pass,' is very weird. I failed on the sixth egg last time; my hand shook, and the yolk flowed all over the table. The examiner's look... tsk, it was like I killed his father."

Li Daming tightened his grip on the slip in his hand.

The registration fee was 8,800, which he had saved for three months to afford.

His wife originally didn't agree, saying that with this money, it would be better to save it for the child's tutoring classes, but he was tough for once this time.

"Old Wang is already fifty, the construction site doesn't want him anymore, how many more years can I work?" he said to his wife.

"I have to seize the opportunity while I'm still relatively young to learn a new skill."

"Driving a mech, you can earn 500 a day."

In fact, he didn't say everything; it was rumored on the construction site recently that engineering mechs would be introduced next month.

Those who can't drive them will either have to transfer to being a laborer (150 a day) or pack up and leave.

The gate of the examination center finally opened at 7:00 sharp.

The crowd surged, squeezing inside like a tide.

Li Daming was pushed forward by the crowd, and a corner of the slip in his hand was soaked with sweat.

First hurdle: Identity verification.

Swipe ID card, facial recognition, iris scan.

Machine female voice: "Li Daming, ID number XXXXXX, application category: Category II engineering mech operating qualification. Theory test score: 71, pass."

He took the theory test twice. The first time was 58, just two points short.

Heaven rewards the diligent; after gnawing on the textbooks in the construction shed until midnight every day, he finally passed the second time.

But the hardest part was not the theory, but the practical operation that followed.

Second hurdle: Waiting hall.

Five hundred seats were full, and the large screen scrolled with exam instructions and precautions.

The most prominent one: "Subject Two exam content: Precision handling. Requires using a Category II engineering mech basic mechanical hand to move twenty raw eggs from the starting point to the finish line within ten minutes, spaced one meter apart, with no more than three broken."

The screen also played a demonstration video: a yellow engineering mech (training-specific model) used mechanical fingers to pick up an egg, move it steadily, and place it down gently. The movements were as smooth as playing the piano.

"Looks simple," someone in the front row muttered.

"You'll know when you actually get your hands on it. The force feedback of those mechanical fingers—a little too heavy and it breaks, too light and you can't grab it."

Li Daming's palms were sweating.

At 7:30, the calling of numbers began.

"Number A021, Li Daming, Examination Room 3."

Examination Room 3 was a 300-square-meter hall with straight white lines drawn on the ground, and a white plastic tray placed every meter, with a raw egg in each tray.

Twenty trays, twenty eggs, arranged in a straight line, extending to the other end of the hall.

In the center of the examination room, a training engineering mech stood quietly, painted in an eye-catching bright yellow, with the words "Exam Special" printed on its chest.

The examiner was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a dark blue uniform, with the "Longyin Certification" emblem on his epaulets.

He had dark skin and stood straight; he was clearly a veteran.

"Li Daming?" The examiner looked at the tablet.

"Here."

"I am your examiner, surnamed Zhang. I drove an 'Iron Wolf' in the 'Dragon Cavalry' guard for three years," Examiner Zhang spoke crisply. "You know the rules, right?"

"Clear."

"Then let's start. Ten minutes, twenty eggs. More than three broken, fail," Examiner Zhang paused. "Remember, this isn't moving bricks on a construction site. This is embroidery."

Li Daming nodded and climbed into the mech cockpit.

The cockpit was very simple: two joysticks, a row of buttons, and a display screen. After adjusting the seat to a suitable position, the system automatically scanned and bound.

"Candidate Li Daming, identity confirmed. Training Mech 03, start."

Hum—

The mech's eyes (actually cameras) lit up with blue light, and the joints emitted a slight hydraulic sound.

Li Daming gripped the joysticks.

He had practiced for thirty hours on the simulator, but the feel of a real mech was completely different from the simulator.

The force feedback system was very delicate, and he could feel the faint touch coming from the tips of the mechanical fingers.

First egg.

The mechanical hand descended slowly, three fingers opened, and closed gently.

But it was too light, and the egg slipped from between the fingers, fell into the tray, wobbled, and didn't break.

"Steady," Examiner Zhang's voice came through the headset. "Don't be nervous, just pretend you're picking up nails on a construction site."

Li Daming took a deep breath and tried again.

This time the force was just right. The mechanical fingers clamped the egg steadily and lifted it slowly.

One centimeter, two centimeters, ten centimeters... success.

He controlled the mech to take a step and walk toward the second tray.

First step, steady.

Second step, steady.

Third... the hydraulic system of the mech's right leg emitted a slight "hissing" sound, and the body tilted slightly.

Li Daming's heart tightened, and he adjusted quickly.

But it was too late.

The mechanical hand wobbled, and the finger force went out of control.

"Pop."

The slight cracking sound was particularly harsh in the quiet examination room.

The second egg, the yolk flowed out from between the fingers and dripped onto the ground.

"One broken," Examiner Zhang recorded calmly, "Continue."

Li Daming's forehead began to sweat.

The third, fourth, fifth... all succeeded.

But the sixth one broke because the movement was too urgent when turning.

"Two broken," Examiner Zhang reminded.

Li Daming gritted his teeth and continued.

The tenth, the eleventh...

When he reached the fifteenth, the mech suddenly sounded an alarm: "Right arm joint temperature too high, cooling suggested."

The display screen popped up a warning: continuous precision operation caused the motor to overheat, and the cooling system was starting.

The mechanical hand's movements began to become sluggish, and the force feedback also showed a delay.

The sixteenth egg, when he placed it down, bumped against the edge of the tray because the movement was stiff.

The eggshell cracked.

"Three broken," Examiner Zhang said, "Four left. Break one more, and you fail."

Li Daming's hands were shaking.

He remembered his wife's words last night: "If you don't pass, just come back, you can still work on the construction site."

He remembered his son asking him: "Dad, is the mech very big? Can I sit in it?"

He remembered the gray face of Old Wang when he was fired.

No.

He couldn't go back.

The seventeenth, success.

The eighteenth, success.

The nineteenth—the mech suddenly hiccuped.

It was a real "hiccup" sound, the sound of the cooling system exhausting air.

The mechanical hand trembled, and the egg drew an arc in the air.

Li Daming's heart almost stopped.

But just as the egg was about to hit the ground, he instinctively pushed the joystick, and the mechanical hand scooped down.

Damn, he actually caught it!

The egg landed steadily in the palm, intact.

Examiner Zhang raised an eyebrow.

The twentieth.

The last one.

Li Daming was soaked in sweat, his knuckles white from gripping the joystick.

The mechanical hand descended slowly, closed, lifted, moved, and placed down.

Gently, gently, gently—

"Ding."

The egg landed in the center of the twentieth tray, as good as new.

"Time's up," Examiner Zhang pressed the timer, "Three broken, just enough to pass."

Li Daming slumped in the driver's seat, panting heavily.

He finally passed.

When he climbed down from the mech, his legs were soft.

Examiner Zhang signed on the tablet and looked up at him: "What did you do before?"

"Construction, laying bricks."

"No wonder," Examiner Zhang smiled rarely.

"Hands for laying bricks need to be steady; you have a good foundation, you were just too nervous."

He handed over a card: "Subject Two passed. You'll take Subject Three in three days, complex terrain passage; go back and practice well on the simulator."

When Li Daming took the card, his hands were still shaking.

When he walked out of the examination room, the sun was blinding.

He took out his phone and sent a message to his wife: "Passed."

His wife replied in seconds: "Really? I'll add a dish for you tonight!"

He smiled, and as he smiled, his eyes got a little wet.

At the same time, Longyin Research Institute cafeteria.

Wang Hao squeezed to Chen Guang's side with his tray, his tablet propped on the table, playing his latest teaching video.

Title: "Brother Hao Teaches You to Drive a Mech - Subject Two Special: The Dignity of an Egg"

In the video, Wang Hao was wearing a lab coat, standing next to a training mech, holding an egg in his hand.

"Brothers, sisters, old friends! Today Brother Hao will tell you the core skills of Subject Two!"

He cracked the egg, and the egg white and yolk flowed into a bowl.

"See that? An egg is something with a thin shell and is full of water inside. If you use too much force, it breaks; if you use too little, it slides away. So how do you grasp this degree?"

He jumped into the mech cockpit (the camera followed).

"The key is here," he pointed to the value interface of the force feedback sensor.

"The tips of the mech's fingers have 128 pressure sensing points, sampling 1,000 times per second. What you need to do is not 'control the fingers,' but 'feel the fingers'."

In the video, the mech's mechanical hand picked up a new egg.

"Just like this... approach slowly, close gently. Can you feel it? The curvature of the eggshell, the shaking inside..."

The egg was picked up steadily, moved, and placed down.

"This isn't moving bricks, this is treating your girlfriend... oh wait, Brother Hao doesn't have a girlfriend yet," Wang Hao grinned at the camera.

"Just like treating the last candy your mom gave you, you have to hold it, worship it, afraid it will melt in your mouth—"

"Pop."

The egg suddenly broke.

The yolk splashed onto the camera lens.

Wang Hao was stunned for three seconds, then roared off-camera: "Who adjusted the parameters?! Why is the force feedback sensitivity set so high?!"

A calm voice-over from Chen Guang came from the video: "You said you wanted 'ultimate realism' yesterday."

"That doesn't mean it should break at a touch! Is this egg made of tofu?!"

"Your movements are too rough."